Man tries to lure boy from DU basketball game by saying, 'Your parents asked me to pick you up'

Boy tells man his mom is down the hall, man leaves

The University of Denver is warning parents to be alert after a man tried to take a boy from a basketball game at the Ritchie Center on Tuesday night. Lindsey Sablan reports.

KMGH

The Ritchie Center, University of Denver

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DENVER - The University of Denver is warning parents to be alert after a man tried to take a 12-year-old boy from a basketball game at the Ritchie Center on Tuesday night.

It was a busy night at the arena. The women's basketball team was playing at 6 p.m., the men's team at 8.

Sometime between those games, a man approached the boy on the arena concourse, telling him was supposed to take him home.

The alert reads:

At approximately 7:00 p.m. last night, an adult male approached a 12 year old child and told the child "Hi my name is Jordan and your parents asked me to pick you up." The child indicated that his mother was just down the hall and the suspect left the area.

DESCRIPTION OF SUBJECT: The suspect, pictured on the right, is described as a white male, 18-22 years of age, 5-11 in height, medium build, brown hair. Suspect was wearing: dark jeans, with white scrape marks, black “hoodie” sweatshirt. Victim also states that the suspect had 2 or 3 lanyards in his pockets and one was yellow and hanging several inches out of the pants pocket.

"It's just amazing that someone would be that aggressive in a public space with a young one," said DU spokesperson Will Jones.

Jones said they have not had any reports of similar incidents, but they are asking parents who bring children to games or youth activities on campus to be alert.

"We're so glad that this child was smart enough to say no, to walk away and to avoid the situation all together," he said. "We want people to remain vigilant and keep their eyes on their children."

7NEWS contacted Denver Police, who responded to the report. They call the incident 'suspicious' and said they are investigating the case.

Copyright 2013 Scripps Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.